The show's 2005 winner Shayne Ward recorded the most first-week sales, shifting 742,180 copies of his debut, That's My Goal.

Little Mix only manage seventh place out of the eight winners to date, ahead of Brookstein's 127,701 for his Phil Collins cover Against All Odds in 2004, but behind Leon Jackson's 275,742 for When You Believe in 2007.

Indeed, Ward sold more copies of That's My Goal in its first day on release than Little Mix did in a week.

Bookmakers have made the Military Wives Choir, a 100-strong choir led by BBC2 star Gareth Malone and featuring the spouses of servicemen in Afghanistan, the odds-on favourite to take the festive top spot.

Critics blamed the slump on "finals fatigue", with the final stretched over four hours on a Saturday and Sunday night.

It was also the first UK edition of the show not to feature Cowell on the judging panel after he left to focus on the US launch of his show.

It remained, however, a big ratings and revenue driver for ITV1. The broadcaster said it averaged 11 million viewers over the course of its 17-week run, making it the third most successful series in The X Factor's eight-year history.

Little Mix's Cannonball is a cover of a Damien Rice song first released in 2003.

The Irish folk singer benefited from The X Factor publicity, with his original version of the song climbing to No 19 in this week's chart. It previously reached No 32 in 2003 and 19 when it was re-released a year later.

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook.